This time, guys, I hit the jackpot! Since I started making this delicious and gorgeous looking spread, we can’t have enough of it. Everyone loves it! No matter how bigger batch I’ll make it will be gone within hours. I serve it at parties and it’s a great success. Serve it as a dip with lots of fresh cut veg or as a spread/ filling for wraps and sandwiches, with lots of green leaves and sprouts of all kind.

Place lentils, sweet potato and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and cook till both lentils and sweet potato are totally soft and all the water have absorbed. Let it cool a little, add the rest of the ingredients and, using a hand blender, blend to a smooth consistency. To serve, transfer to a flat bowl, flatten the spread a little and drizzle with some extra olive oil. Garnish with some chopped fresh herbs, like coriander or parsley and some chili flake if you like. Serve it with crudités and crackers to dip. It’s nice to eat it fresh and warm but it keeps in the fridge for a week.

If you are still wondering what to do with all that gorgeous pumpkins that are out there on the market now here is another creative idea. From my experience, shaping vegetables into burgers makes them much more popular by both adults and children. And the fragrant, spicy mango salsa is to die for!

I found out that in a shape of a burger even the hard core picky eaters are happy to eat vegetables.

Preparation:
Grate the pumpkin (use food processor if you have), coarsely and transfer to a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix/ knead to a sticky mixture. Creat burger like patties and fry them in coconut oil in a covered non-stick pan till both sides are golden brown.
Wile the burgers are cooking, place all the sauce ingredients in a food processor container or blender and whiz to a smooth consistency.
Serve the burgers hot with a generous dollop of the mango sauce.

Autumn time is pumpkin time! And who doesn’t love them. In my kitchen we eat them in soups, stews, salads and even cakes and smoothies!
This time I decided to take it to the next level. Out of all the varieties, butternut squash is my favorite and here is what I made out of it this time:
I peeled and deseeded one small butternut squash, cut it into cubes, about 2cm, and lay them on a backing tray.

I Drizzled some olive oil, seasoned with smoked salt and pepper and sprinkled some Italian herb mix.
Then they went into the oven at 200 degrees for about 35-40 minutes till the squash was soft and caramelized.

Into a bowl went my roasted squash, a can of chickpeas (220gr) with: one chopped large clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp smoked salt, 1 tsp paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy)

I used a potato masher to puree the squash and chickpeas together and added some more olive oil. Feel free to add some fresh chopped herbs like parsley of coriander. Now my filling was ready.

I used for this recipe Jersey Wakefield cabbage but white or green (savoy) works great as well. You have to remove the hard center of the cabbage and lightly steam it so you can remove the leaves easily.
Now I laid a leaf of cabbage on my work surface , placed a spoonful of filling into the middle and wrapped it into a bundle by folding the sides and then rolling the whole thing. Repeat till you finish your filling.

I placed all cabbage wraps, seam side down, in a shallow pan, tucked in few celery stalks and garlic cloves, drizzled some olive oil and started cooking on low medium heat to brown them from all sides.

I poured one cup of tomato passata over, seasoned with some more salt and pepper and cooked, with a lid on, for about half an hour.
Adjust seasoning, turn off heat and drizzle with some fresh virgin olive before serving.

MY WEEKLY TIP

Have you ever found yourself staring at your open fridge or larder, scanning the products and ingredients and have absolutely no idea what to make with them, or what do you feel like eating?
And what if this situation repeats itself again and again over a period of time?
Well, you are experiencing a ‘cooking crisis’. It happens to the best of cooks!
Here are some key strategy solutions to over come the crisis:
1. Go back to basics, opt for the most simple recipes that always work.
2. Make a list of your all time favourites and stick to them for some time till you feel creativity is crawling back.
3. Focus on one ingredient you have or feel like eating and look for recipes using it as the main ingredient.
4. Think of what type of dish you feel like eating; soup, salad, burgers, pie etc. and look for a recipe for that.
5. Cook together with friends and family or initiate potluck dinners. Sharing cooking and eating with others can inspire you and boost your creativity in the kitchen.